Blind Faith: Descent into the Bezumiye Caves
by HowAboutThat
Summary: When both Stanford and Stanley go through the portal they are left with each other in the terrors of this dimension, but with Stanley blindfolded and Stanford wearing earplugs things are difficult and each is left to slowly descend into their own type of madness. Will they go mad before they can escape? Will they die? [Rated T: Violence, Language, Madness, (Possibly Mild) Gore]
1. Chapter 1

HAT: Sorry this came out late. It's my birthday and I haven't exactly gotten the chance to be on the computer pretty much all day... yeah- on the bright side the newest episode came out on my birthday! Anyway, enjoy this new story! If Alex Hirsch is reading- _thank you_ for the amazing and not on purpose birthday present!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls or it's characters and I do not own the concept of Blind Faith, just the general plot (kind of).**

* * *

 _Eyes._

 _Everywhere._

 _Watching him._

That's the first thing that Stanford woke up to and he _hated_ it. Sure, it was pretty blurred, but he can still see it all nonetheless. It's bad enough that back in his dimension that he had Bill's voice in his head at all times whispering things and making him have nightmares every time he went into sleep. This just takes the cake in making the works around him seem even more dangerous. And not to mention his brother- _his brother!_

Stanford immediately twists his torso to look behind him since he can't see his twin in front of him and nearly snaps his neck in attempt to make out the shape nearby and nearly sighs in relief at seeing his brother. He scrambles over and checks his breathing first and then his eyes lock onto the burn on Stanley's shoulder and bile rises in his throat and guilt wells in his chest because he knows that _he's_ the one that did this to his brother.

"Ngh," Stanley groans, the beginnings of a two minute- at the longest- arousing period.

Immediately Stanford thinks of Fiddleford and how insane he went after a few seconds in here- and he can see why- and despite how he bears a little ill will towards his brother, he doesn't want him to go insane. He crouches in front of his brother and twenty seconds later the larger man begins to sit up and his eyes begin to flutter, but they aren't open yet.

Stanford lunges forward and covers his brother's upper face with his hand and shouts, "Don't open your eyes!"

"Stanford? What's going on? Why-?"

"Nothing," Stanford quickly lies, causing his brother to frown.

"We both know I'm the better liar. What's really going on?"

Stanford internally wrestles with telling his twin the truth, but sighs. "A few months ago my assistant-mechanic got his head in here for a few seconds and went insane, I don't want that happening to you."

"What about you?"

"My glasses came off and I can't find them so it shouldn't affect me like it did him," Stanley says, though when he thinks back he realizes that Fiddleford's glasses came off as well. No need to mention that, but there's still the thing with Stanford's near-perfect vision. "I'll be fine."

"O-okay..."

"Keep your eyes closed, promise?"

"'Ford, I don't see why-"

" _Promise,_ " Stanford repeats with a little of his stress and desperation seeping into his voice.

Stanley's frown deepens before he heaves a sigh. "Promise."

Stanford rips off the bottom of his trench coat and wraps the thick cloth around Stanley's eyes- it wound around his eyes multiple times, surprisingly- and then waves his hands in front of the newly blinded man's face. "Can you see that?"

"No, it's kind of hard to open my eyes with the fabric over my eyes," he replies sarcastically.

"Good, good," Stanford murmurs and tries not to focus on the eyes surrounding them. "Now for that burn-"

"Where are we?"

Stanford rubs the back of his head. "A- uh- a cave... relatively dark, but there's some light from a few stones."

 _And eyes everywhere._

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Stanford lies only to receive another frown. "Please don't ask about stuff like that."

"I'm just concerned over my brother- forgive me for being a half-decent human being," Stanley snaps before pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. "Sorry... Any water or anything like that?"

"No, just rock and useless papers and junk," Stanford replies only to get hit in the chest. "Ouch, what's that for?"

"That can be used for _fire_ , dumb ass! Go get it!" It takes a few minutes of fumbling around without trying to see the eyes staring at him to get all the paper he can see and he rushes over to his brother. Stanley reaches out for the paper and once it's given to him he puts them in his inside jacket pocket and them pulls out a knife from is right back pocket with a quiet hiss of pain and pulls out a swiss army knife and then holds it out to his twin. "I won't have much use for it since I can't use my eyes anymore, so you keep it and use it."

Stanford takes the multi-purpose device and pits it into his pocket. "Now about that burn-"

"'Ford, there's _really_ nothing we can do about that if we don't have medicine or anything. Just leave it alone and we'll walk and try to find something."

There's no arguing with that logic so Stanford sighs. "Let's go."

 _Into this deep dark hole full of prying eyes._

* * *

Stanley: ... we're screwed.

HAT: Yep.

Stanley: Review. *walks out* Hey, 'Ford!

HAT: NO! *tackles Stanley* It's my birthday!

Stanley: *stops and sighs* Fine...

HAT: Thank you! And for my birthday present?

Stanley: *sighs* Fine... *hugs her* Happy?

HAT: Yes! Now for the others!


	2. Chapter 2

HAT: Thank you all for the "happy birthdays" and the birthday hugs! *glomps everyone back* Now... time for the most terrifying thing to all children and teens... School!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the AU and not even sure I own the entire plot- they belong to their respective owners. ONWARD, AOSHIMA!**

* * *

Time passes- several minutes? Hours? Days?- and Stanford has tried his best to keep Stanley from stumbling over anything, but he doesn't know what they're doing anymore. They're just walking aimlessly in search of something that can sustain them, but for all they know, they're going to starve and die in the hellhole without anyone so much as showing interest in them or investigate their deaths. Both Stans aren't necessarily _wanted_ in their own dimension since they did everything in their powers to block themselves from the rest of the world.

"I hear something," Stanley suddenly whispers.

Stanford goes completely still and listens carefully to his surroundings. After a few seconds of concentration he hears the trickling of running water and- for the first time since theyentered the dimension and even _before_ that- Stanford feels a bit of giddiness and pure... _happiness?_ He can't be sure anymore, but whatever it is he hasn't felt it in a _long_ time.

"Water! There's water!"

He can _feel_ Stanley rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's get there!"

"Okay, okay, we're going."

The two clumsily make their way to the source of the water sound only to find the "source" is a dried riverbed. Stanford frowns and resists cursing at being misled. They wasted so much energy trying to find a source of water and there's nothing there.

"Why'd we stop, the water's right there," Stanley snaps.

"It's a dry riverbed."

Stanley doesn't restrain himself and curses. "Damn it... What now? Go upstream?"

"What makes you think that there'll be water upstream when there's no water here?"

"What else can we do without water?"

Fair point.

"Fine."

The two make their way toward the empty riverbed and Stanley tilts his head- almost like a dog- and listens carefully before pointing in the opposite direction of the water sound. "That way."

Stanford frowns in confusion and glances in the opposite direction that his brother had pointed out. "But the water sound-"

"Got us a dried riverbed. Silence may get us to water. We could split up and I'll take my blindfold off-"

" _No_ ," Stanford interrupts forcefully. "We stick together and the blindfold stays _on._ "

Stanley gives a huff of indignation. "Fine. Just trust me on this one."

Stanford observes his brother's face as best he can- without being able to see his brother's eyes, there has to be a lot of attention on the lower half of the face. "Okay."

A surprised smile makes it's way onto the larger twin's face. Obviously he's not used to getting his way so easily or being trusted.

The pair journey through the cave slowly with their senses working to the fullest. While Stanford _sees_ everything around them Stanley is forced to hear everything that is going on around him and this is not a better scenario than seeing the world. In fact, it's equally worse. He hears _whispers_ and they set him on edge. No matter how hard he tries to hear their words, they don't become clearer. There's no such thing as leaving without going insane.

Stanford hasn't shown any signs that he can hear them- yet, there's still the chance that he will since he's not paying as much attention to noise as Stanford.

Stanley refuses to tell his brother that he's hearing things- the man's already got enough on his plate- so he just concentrates on the "silence" that will lead them to water.

 _Shut up, shut up,_ Stanley thinks as he stumbles once again- a normal occurrence, it seems. _I don't want to hear you!_

He grinds his teeth when the whispering continues, but other than that he shows no sign of his struggle about hearing voices- whatever they may be saying- and instead looks more like he's frustrated about stumbling all the time.

 _Maybe I should have 'Ford wear earbuds or something? I think I have a pair from when I went to the gun range a few weeks back,_ Stanley thinks when suddenly his brother stops. "What? What is it?"

"I think we found the water."

" _Think?_ "

The reason that Stanford says this is because it looks like there's water- a running river, actually- but it's so crystal clear that it's hard to tell. For all he knows this could be something acidic. He'll have to check it- perhaps with a rock lying around? Or if he wants to be doubly sure, his hand and take a small drink himself? So long as his brother doesn't end up hurt.

"Here, sit down, I'll be right back," Stanford orders.

"But-"

"Please, Stan?"

At that desperate tone he huffs and sits down. "Fine. Go on, do what you need to do."

Stanford walks over to the water and picks up a stray stone off the ground and kneels beside the water before rolling it into the water. Instead of making the usual noise of water when something plops into it, it sucks up the noise so that everything is silent. He watches the rock or a few minutes before dipping the tip of his extra finger in the water. When nothing happens for a few more minutes he cups his fingers and uses it as a makeshift cup and drinks the water. He waits several minutes before nodding. This is definitely water- strange water, but water.

Stanford shakes his hands to get the water off and then dries it on his cloak before getting up and going back to his brother. "It's water. Here, I'll help you get up."

Normally Stanley would argue, but obviously he's too tired to care. "Finally, you were taking forever."

Stanford rolls his eyes and blatantly ignores the eyes still watching them. "Shut up."

* * *

HAT: Another chapter. I figured I'd add a bit of my own twist with Stanley hearing voices.

Wax Sherlock: You're a very twisted individual...

HAT: Everyone is to some degree... besides, you can't judge my mental stability since you tried to murder Stan.

Wax Sherlock: But-

HAT: No buts!

Wax Sherlock: *rolls eyes* Yes, _mother_.

HAT: Don't call me that. Just say the thing.

Wax Sherlock: Review.


	3. Chapter 3

HAT: Okay, so... enjoy!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the show or the AU- if I did, I'd be bragging _so_ hard. *dramatic light* Alas! I only own the plot and the twists I have in this! *leans over "cliff* Onward... Aoshima... *falls into a black hole***

* * *

They drank to their fill as soon as they got to the strange water. Now Stanford is cleaning Stanley's burn as best as he can. He had started out gently, but Stanley insisted that if he wants to get the burn clean he'll have to put more pressure so he complies. Other than stiffening at a particularly painful part, Stanley doesn't make any indication that he's in pain at all which makes Stanford wonder what happened to his brother to make him so tolerant to such an intense pain. Stanford knows that he'd be bawling and passed out if this had happened to him instead.

"Do you know sign language?" Stanley asks out of nowhere.

Startled, Stanford pauses his work. "What?"

"Do you know sign language?" Stanley repeats with an exasperated tone.

"Um... the basics of it," Stanford admits.

"Hmm... we'll have to work on that," Stanley mutters.

"First off, why do you ask? Secondly, how do you know sign language?"

Without missing a beat Stanley answers, "I ask because I want to know and I know becauseof this girl I dated for a while- her little brother- he was ten, I think- was deaf so I learned so I could understand him for when I had to take care of him. He was a cool kid. Now hurry up and finish cleaning up my shoulder so I can teach you. Oh, and cut my hair while you're at it- I'm tired of this mullet."

Stanford grunts in reply and once he's finished cleaning the wound he tears more of his coat to wrap it up before taking out the swiss army knife that was given to him by his brother to get a good portion of the long hair off. He knows _why_ Stanley wants to get rid of his mullet- it's a reminder of mistakes and shows that he can't bring himself to care about anything. Cutting it into a nicer style means that he's moving on and going to start caring about _something_ again, even if it's a little. After all, a Pines man's hair is a way to see through them easily and it's easy to see that Stanley stopped caring about a lot with the fact that he has a _mullet_.

Stanford uses the scissors to get it nice and neat before he nods and puts the multi-purpose item back into his pocket. "There, you're done."

Stanley feels his hair and smiles. "Feels good, poindexter. Maybe you should've been a barber."

That's what everyone says about Pines men- except Pines men unless they really like the haircut. It does look good, cut close in the back and trimmed up in the front- almost like his hair before he was kicked out except without all the products in his hair to keep it up.

As Stanley fixes his hair so that it's presentable- yes, Pines men are so obsessed with their hair, they could do it in the dark, blindfolded, or in their sleep (Stanley definitely got to that point in his early adulthood) quite literally- he asks. "Okay so since you know the basics of sign language, I'll show you a bit more- most of them are gonna be one-handed- and once you have those memorized, you're putting on earbuds."

"Why?"

"Because I said so," Stanley snaps and continues to style his hair. "Now, pay attention."

Over the next hour or so- it's hard to tell how much time has passed- Stanley shows his twin the hand signs for multiple things- even a few just for conversational purposes. He digs in his pockets until he finds the wanted items and holds them out to hid brother.

"What's going on?"

" _Nothing_ ," Stanley snaps and then rubs his forehead. "Do you know morse code?"

"Of course I do, dad made us learn it," Stanford reminds.

"And can you read lips?"

"Pretty well."

"Good. Here's how it's gonna go for most of the time we're here," Stanley says, "We can talk like this every now and again- y'know, so we don't lose our voices and forget how to speak just in case we run into anyone or get out of this place- and you keep those earbuds in _no matter what_ , understand?"

"But-"

" _Understand?_ "

Stanford recognizes some of the desperation and nods. "Okay."

Stanley relaxes and then continue with his plan, "Anyway, you're going to practice talking with the earbuds so that you don't blow my eardrums out when you talk for a little while so that your throat muscles memorize it and then we're going to talk using morse code and sign language if we need to be silent for any reason- only take those out when we're in danger and put them right back in- got it?"

Obviously he's been thinking about this a lot since he first thought of the idea. He realizes that there's no sense in them both being handicapped for no reason, but it's terrible for them to run into danger and neither of them have all of their senses for that. Besides, Stanley suspects that the longer one listens, the more the voices seem to assault. Stanford gives no signs of hearing the voices, but since Stanley has no choice, but to listen to the voices with his eyes out of commission, they assault him immediately, but gradually. If they stay there for decades, the less Stanford hears, the more his sanity stays with him- or at least that's what Stanley hopes. Who knows what Stanford's seeing around them.

Meanwhile Stanford is still wondering what has his brother so insistent on him wearing earbuds. It doesn't make any sense in this quiet cave for him to wear earbuds- the only thing that can really drive someone insane are the eyes that seem to make up the walls and ceiling of the cave.

Despite this he nods before common sense kicks in and he says. "Yes."

"Put them in," Stanley orders.

Stanford doesn't, but he says with a louder voice than normal, "They're in!"

Stanley leans forward and looks like he's about to fall so Stanford leans forward and grabs his shoulders. Immediately Stanley's hands go to his ears and his fingers to into the canal. Stanford shouts in surprise and backs away, batting his brother's arms away from himself.

"Put them in, Stanford," Stanley growls.

 _Clever,_ Stanford thinks while putting in the earbuds. Once they're secure he focuses on his brother and sees him saying something, but he can't quite make out what's being said. He frowns in frustration and tries to make out the words, but it seems that his brother is muttering something.

Stanford leans forward and taps his brother's arm to make the message in morse code, " _I _c-a-n-t_ h-e-a-r_ y-o-u._ "

Stanley moves forward and touches his ears and the the earbuds that make a strange, deep noise, but otherwise he can't hear anything.

Once satisfied Stanley leans back and signs while speaking, " _Good. Rub your hands twice when you understand what I'm saying, rub once if I'm going to fast or if I need to repeat_ _myself, rub three times for I don't know_." Stanford snaps twice. " _Now,_ _for a game plan of survival. I'll tap you twice really hard when I hear something strange and you look around. For now, we've got water, but what we also need is food and I'm really not ready to murder you so that I can have something to eat. Where there's water, there's usually food. Do you see anything like plants around here?_ "

Stanford looks around carefully and finds nothing other than rock in sight. He rubs his hands once.

Stanley says something under his breath- most like a curse word- before turning to his brother fully and talks again, " _Okay, well, we can survive a little while without food anyway, we just gotta conserve energy and drink water. Lucky for you I know how to survive in a desert. Let me know if you see_ anything _okay?_ "

Stanford rubs his hands twice.

" _Now let's get some sleep. I'll keep the first 'watch' and listen for anything. You get some rest- you probably haven't slept in weeks._ "

Before Stanford can protest Stanley's already pulling him down so that his head rests on his lap and immediately Stanford goes to sleep.

Once Stanley hears the soft breathing of his brother he listens to his surroundings while trying not to hear the voices. He doesn't know if he even _wants_ to hear what they have to say- they sound malicious, gleeful, and everything in between- but he's forced to hear them while he "stands watch" for his brother.

Stanley contemplates taking off his blindfold, but remembers how desperate his brother was for him to keep it on. Yes, he _can't_ break his brother's trust again, but if Stanford breaks his promise, he's _going_ to rip the blindfold off no matter what.

But for now, he sits and listens and prays that they'll get out of this hellhole soon.

* * *

HAT: There's my complete and utter twist of things!

Mabel: That cave sounds... creepy.

HAT: What else do you expect in a place that made McGucket want to erase his mind?

Mabel: Not that!

HAT: *shrugs* Well, they don't tell us what's on the other side of the portal so... kinda open for debate there.

Mabel: Point. *turns to readers* Pretty, please, review!

HAT: Now let's get out of here and eat bacon!

Mabel: But Waddles-

HAT: *hugs Mabel with one arm and glances around sneakily* Waddles doesn't have to know.

Mabel: ... let's do it.


	4. Chapter 4

HAT: Sorry that it didn't come out yesterday- I did say _hopefully_ and I was right to do so since we went to stay the weekend at a house with a nice TV, DVR, and no internet. Basically, that's why none of the stories got updated until today. *hides behind Stan* I'm sorry.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls because if I did: 'Ford would have that couch be a pullout bed and I'd show him sleeping before last night's episode (he was just so adorable!). Anyway... I just own the plot and... I have OCs in this one, right? Yeah, and the OCs.**

* * *

" _S _u _o-k?_ " Stanford asks, tapping on his thinning brother's arm- he's lost a surprising amount of weight in the time that they've been there- after he froze.

For the past week they've been like this with Stanford keeping the earplugs in and Stanley keeping the blindfold on. They'd gotten communicating down to a science when it comes to situations that seem dire, but so far nothing dire has happened. Stanford had practiced whispering and talking like normal so now it's a whole lot better than before. Now he starts out at a whisper and then adjusts his voice to be sure it doesn't become too loud for his brother or attract anything dangerous in here.

" _T_ _hought I heard something, look around,_ " Stanley replies quickly with one hand while mouthing the words to help his twin understand.

Stanford immediately looks around them and when he sees nothing he taps, " _H-e-a-r _n-e _t-h-n-g?_ "

A few seconds pass before he shakes his head and signs, " _No, not anymore. Keep an eye out anyway._ "

" _O-k._ "

Half an hour of walking and they sit by the water and drink. Neither will admit how long it's been since they've eaten- a week and two days for Stanford and a week and four days for Stanley- and they're getting desperate for food, but not so desperate that they'll eat each other... _yet_.

Stanford leans too forward and falls into the water completely, going unnoticed by Stanley until he resurfaces and sputters out the water. The water- true to it's nature so far- absorbed _all_ of the noise.

" _Are you okay? What happened?_ " Stanley signs.

" _I _f-e-l-l _i-n _t-h-e _w-a-t-e-r_ ," Stanford taps while pounding his boot to get water out of his pants.

" _'Ford, where are you?_ " Stanley asks frantically.

Stanford frowns in confusion. " _I-m _r-i-g-h-t _n-e-x-t _t-o _y-o-u._ "

Stanley's signing gets desperate and clumsy. " _Stop playing!... That's it, I'm taking it off-_ "

Stanford grabs his brother's wrist with unnecessary force and growls under his breath. "The blindfold stays on."

" _What the hell, Stanford?! I couldn't hear you at all! What kind of stupid game are you playing?_ " Stanley signs furiously with an angry downturn of his lips.

"I wasn't playing," Stanford insists and pinches the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh. "From what I can gather, this water has special sound absorbing properties... that could be useful..."

Stanley sighs. " _You're gonna test the water aren't you?_ "

"Of course I am... now I'm curious if it works on our voices- we don't talk for quite some time after we drink the water."

" _Fine, do what you want._ " Stanley signs and then runs a hand through his hair. " _We should be focusing on finding_ food _since- y'know- the only edible things we have are each other._ "

Stanford sighs, realizing that they can't afford to stop and have him experiment when they barely haven't eaten in a week. "You're right."

Soon the both of them are walking with Stanley holding a drenched shoulder. For several minute's all is quiet and then Stanley hears something akin to hooves on rock. At first he brushes it off as an illusion like with the ever-present whispering of voices, but then it happens again and he stops again.

" _Hooves sound... that could mean_ food _,_ " Stanley signs. " _Look around for a deer or something._ "

Stanford does just that and then sees something at the water's edge quite a distance. He turns and furiously taps his brother's arm, " _I-m _g-o-n-n-a _s-n-e-a-k _u-p _o-n _i-t _s-t-a-y _h-e-r-e._ "

Only when he gets a nod does Stanford turn take out his ear plugs and stuff them into his trouser pockets and round about the animal. He pulls out the knife and gets the blade ready. Suddenly he's glad he fell in the water because the animal can't hear him. He can only hope his surprise attack will be enough because he doesn't know if he's strong enough to take on a full grown mammal.

As he gets closer the animal gets... smaller. He frowns in confusion, but decides that if it's smaller, it's easier to catch. By the time he's close enough to make his move the deer is about the size of a full-grown Golden Retriever. He leaps forward and stabs the knife into the throat as he and the animal go down when suddenly so many eyes are right in front of him in the deer's head. He lets out a cry of alarm and leaps back in fright.

For several minutes he sits there watching the multi-eyed animal bleed to death, but he's focused on the eyes. Seven... seven eyes watching him- _accusing_ him- as the animal dies. He lets out a hysterical laugh and runs a hand through his hair. It's only when he hears footsteps that he remembers that he isn't alone and that his brother is still there. He takes the knife out and washes it in the water before placing it back in his inside jacket pocket and then picks up the rather heavy animal and goes back to where he left his brother.

"I'm here," he says when he's near and sets the deer on the ground.

"You don't have the earbuds in," Stanley deadpans, noting how his brother doesn't start at a whisper like he normally does with the earbuds in.

"I had to make sure I wasn't the only one hunting it," Stanford replies.

Several seconds later as Stanford's contemplating how to skin the small, multi-eyed deer, Stanley jars his thought process by asking, "What happened over there?"

Panic seizes his entire body and he immediately remembers the moment that all those eyes turned to look back at him.

"Nothing," he lies, trying to get his brother to drop the subject.

Luckily Stanley knows when to leave well enough alone and doesn't prod his brother on the subject anymore. "Fine, but put in the earplugs now."

Stanford complies with his brother's request and then continues to work on their meal.

 _This place is getting to us. We need to get outta here as soon as possible,_ Stanley thinks, remembering the hysterical laughter. Stanford saw something, but he wasn't going to say anything. It's only fair- Stanley supposes- since he's keeping the whispers to himself.

* * *

HAT: Sorry it's so short, I just wanted to take this chapter to put in a few more twists.

'Ford: Like the fact that the animals here use optical illusions to make themselves seem bigger than they already are and the water absorbing noise?

HAT: Yeah, like that.

Stan: You do realize that's probably not what goes on in that dimension... right?

HAT: I know, but I'm making it up as I go- it's gonna be fine.

Stan: You say that now, but I know you and I know you're gonna put us through a lot of crap.

HAT: This entire AU puts you two through a lotta crap!

'Ford: And you decided to write on it.

HAT: ... Okay, yeah... could you say it and I can go get ready for the day?

Stan'Ford (just because): Review, everyone *receives look form HAT*- uh- please!


	5. Chapter 5

HAT: Hehe, I don't reuse disclaimers and other stuff... NONSPECIFIC EXCUSE! *flips glass cup gently with an angry face and then jumps into Stan's car* Floor it!

Stan: Y'know, you're crazy right? *drives away*

HAT: Shuddup, Lee-Lee.

Stan: ... shut up.

(Sorry for the mess up, it was... 3 am when I posted it and I literally was going to sleep right after. Problem solved!)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls or its characters, just this plot (which will reemerge... eventually) and the OCs. Onward, Aoshima!**

* * *

After starting a fire with a few piece of paper and wood they've been collecting since about four days ago, they ate as much as they could and that left about two-thirds of the small deer left aside from it's innards- their stomachs obviously shrank so any food they got in them without making themselves sick was a blessing. Stanley had patted himself down and then let out a triumphant cry when he found a few salt packets that he smuggled from multiple restaurants and said that this could be used to help preserve the meat they didn't eat. Stanford was quite impressed with Stanley's knowledge on this and also uses the fire to smoke the meat so that it can last even longer.

 _Thief..._

Stanley stiffens and nearly gets his brother's attention to ask him if he'd said anything, but quickly changes his mind after replaying the voice in his head. It's not his brother's voice. It's a stranger's. He replays it in his head over and over in attempt to pinpoint exactly where it came from, but he knows it came from within his own mind. He can't help, but wonder if the voices have been coming from his mind the entire time as some sort of self-comfort method...

 _Some fucked up comfort method,_ he thinks while scowling at thin air while growling under his breath.

"Ngh..."

Stan's hand immediately finds his brother's forehead and he slides his hand up to run a comforting hand through his brother's hair. For several moments the other man whimpers and whines before he sighs when Stan settles into a rhythm. He's exhausted himself, but he can't have his brother wake up- he _needs_ his sleep.

 _Liar..._

He freezes completely for all of half a second and his brother's head lifts. "Stanley? What is it?"

" _Nothing, go back to sleep,_ " Stanley lies, an easy smile on his face.

Stanford- too tired to further observe his twin- lowers his head and curls closer Stanley.

Once his breathing is evened out once again Stanley runs a hand through his hair before quickly fixing it. He can't let on how stressed he _actually_ is and his hair naturally becomes wilder and more... _puffy_ when he's feeling terrible. If his brother sees it, he'll ask what's wrong and Stanley will have to lie and say that everything's _fine_ when in reality he hears voices in his ear that are accusing him of things he knows are true. Stanford will undoubtedly keep an eye on him so Stanley will have to quit muttering to himself and only think unless he absolutely has to talk.

 _Failure..._

He wishes dearly that the whispers will go back to the incoherent mess that he heard before instead of the barely comprehensible words that he will undoubtedly hear for the rest of their time in here. He wishes that he weren't right in the fact that the more one is able to hear the world around them, the more one will hear from the whispers. He doesn't know how long they'll be here, but he does know that if they don't leave soon these voices will be screaming at him.

 _Everything's fine, everything's fine. They don't know anything, they're making assumptions,_ Stanley thinks. _They can't be in your head._

He shakes his head furiously and then gently feels his brother's ear to be sure that the earbuds are in and- thankfully- they are. He can't see- his brother won't let him take the blindfold off- but he can make sure his brother doesn't hear the voices so long as these earbuds are in.

 _Unwanted..._

He grits his teeth and tries to put his concentration on the feeling of his brother's hair. It's greasy and barely presentable which means that he's more stressed than he lets on- and Stanley doesn't need his eyes to see that about his hair.

 _We're gonna go insane in here..._

...

 _They're all watching_ , Stanford thinks while his brother rests. He tries to look at anything, but the eyes, but they're always there.

He still has the earbuds in- upon Stanley's insistent request. _Only take them out when you see something..._ promise, _Stanford._

Of course Stanford promised to ease his brother's mind and- so as not to feel dishonest- he keeps them in and watches for any shadowy figures that might either be prey or something dangerous. He's gotten twitchy- he wants to leave more than anything.

Movement takes his attention and his eyes widen at the realization that the movement is the eyes. It's slow and they weave around and through each other. His hands grab the hair at the sides of his head and he lowers his forehead to his knees that automatically curled to his chest while trying his best to calm himself. He winds up going through the periodic table and when that finishes, the monsters he's found in Gravity Falls. He's gone through over half of the monsters by the time he's collected himself enough to look back up at the moving eyes that continue to watch him.

 _Why do they keep staring? Why won't they just disappear?_ Stanford thinks while feeling something in his chest and trying to keep it at bay- probably hysterical laughter. The only thing keeping him from going completely insane is that he knows his brother won't see it- he's kept the blindfold on as promised for the past few... weeks? Months? Years? He can't tell anymore. Time isn't really relative in a place illuminated by rocks where sunlight is a foreign thing.

The eyes abruptly still and he doesn't know whether he likes them moving or being still better, but he just knows he wants them to stop staring and just disappear.

Out of the corner of his eyes his brother moves and he presses his forehead to Stanford's leg as if he were unconsciously trying to comfort his brother. Stanford lowers his hand to his brother's hair and notices the difference between Stanley's hair and his own. Stanley's short hair is just about as greasy as his own, but it's softer. Of course it would be with the amount of care Stanley gave his hair from his teens until recently apparently- going by the mullet.

 _You're still a pretty good brother, I guess,_ Stanford thinks with a small smile while running his fingers through his brother's hair- a habit he developed when his brother ever slept next to him around eight or ninth grade.

He tears his eyes from his sleeping brother and looks around for anything that could bring harm to himself or his brother. He can't let anything happen to them- it's mostly his fault for this happening _anyway_ what with him building the portal and trusting that triangle demon. He should've known better. He shouldn't have believed that the floating triangle was a muse and saw past his lies, but obviously he didn't. It doesn't matter anymore, what's done is done.

 _I wish it didn't end up like this..._

* * *

HAT: Is it sad that when I read in reviews "I finally cracked" I'm all like *rubs hands together and laughs maniacally* "Yeeeesss! It's working! *lifts up hands with fingers curled in "it's alive!" pose* It's working!" or something like that...

Stanford: Yes.

HAT: No one asked you, 'Ford!

Stanford: *raises eyebrow* HAT... I say this with as much professionalism as possible... you need help.

HAT: ... and your point iiiiiiiiiissssss...?

Stanford: *face palms* N-never mind... J-just... review everyone. *walks out*

HAT: *follows him* Fooordsyyyyyyy!

Stanford: And for the love of- *frustrated noise* Stop calling me that!

HAT: *snickers* Nope!


	6. Chapter 6

HAT: Writer's block is hard to fight, but I'm gonna fight through it! Enjoy, people.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the AU, the show, or the characters- just the plot.**

* * *

How long had they been roaming the cave in hopes of escape? Barely surviving? A month? A year? A _decade?_ Neither twin can quite answer that. Stanford had run out of paper to make tick marks on since they needed the paper to make fire for food and warmth. The most that he has on the paper that he has is thirty-eight days and he knows it's been longer than that. It feels like eternity of being watched and barely being able to survive.

Just last week the eyes gained smiles underneath them several times before stopping for a little while, but one stayed looking eerily like a crescent moon underneath a singular eye. He feels like they're laughing at him- all of the eyes that watch with smiles creeping under them.

 _I can't take this much longer,_ Stanford thinks while tugging at his hair and rocking silently.

Suddenly a touch on his shoulder jars him form his thoughts and he looks up at his brother who gestures to his ears and makes a grabbing and pulling out motion. Quickly Stanford takes out his ear buds and listens to the world around him. He hears claws scraping against stone and he stands and pulls out the pocket knife while pushing his brother against a large stone so that nothing can creep behind them. He looks around and tries to spot something moving, but there's nothing.

 _What is it?_ He wonders.

Suddenly multiple eyes- nine? Ten?- open right in front of him and white teeth glint in the light and he barely has time to bring his arm up to guard his throat. He screams in pain as the beast shakes his arm violently and punches the thing as best as he can.

"'Ford?" Stanley mutters.

"Everything's fine," Stanford grunts, punching it in multiple eyes, but still it doesn't let go.

"I'm taking off the blindf-"

" _NO!_ " Stanford roars, turning just enough to see where Stanley's hand is and grabbing the wrist with his free hand- the right hand. " _The blindfold stays on._ "

Stanley's a bit startled by the growl in his voice. It's just as animalistic as the animal's that is attacking them. He's never feared his brother before, but there's a trickle going up his spine as he feels the bruising strength of his brother's grip in his wrist and replays the animalistic growl over and over again in his mind. And all of this happens in the course of five seconds at most.

He swallows the fear back and speaks with a gruff and annoyed voice, hiding his fear like he always has. "Fine, I'll keep it on... just... be careful."

"Will do," Stanford grunts through gritted teeth and- after hesitating a moment- lets go to his brother's arm.

He pulls out the knife and stabs the animal in two eyes before it releases him and runs away with whimpers.

He falls to his knees and takes deep breaths to try and not scream as the adrenaline leaves his system and pain enters it. Once he's sure his screams are contained in a little box inside of his chest he rolls up his sleeve and looks at deep gashes and grimaces. He rips a part of the bottom of his trench coat and cleans his wound quietly, listening for anything that'll come back or come at them. After wrapping up his arm he rolls the sleeve back down and goes back to his brother.

"'Ford, are you okay?" Stanley asks quietly

"Yeah," Stanford replies and grabs his earbuds and puts them in before his brother can question him.

Stanley reaches forward and feels for the earbuds and when he's sure they're in he brings his hands closer to his body. He can smell the fresh blood and knows that his brother's lying about being okay- he's hurt, but he refuses to admit it... just like Stanley probably would if the rolls were reversed.

 _We need to get out,_ Stanley can't help, but think for the eightieth time that hour.

" _Foolish..._ "

He does his best not to react to the sudden voice and instead holds out his hands for his brother to take and lead him through the cave.

" _He'll betray you..._ "

" _Hurt you..._ "

Stanley scowls when he's sure that his brother isn't looking and thinks, _Stanford would never hurt me. We're brothers._ His burn mark tingles and a trickle of doubt goes through him. _I mean... he wouldn't do it on purpose..._

* * *

Candy: Hello! I regret to inform you that HAT has fallen into another black hole. So until we get her back, I and the others go Gravity Falls will be taking over. So, please, review this story.


	7. Chapter 7

HAT: Yay! I _finally_ got some inspiration again! Now to get inspiration for _Waning Moon._.. Anyway, enjoy this (long awaited) chapter!

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the show or it's characters or this AU. I merely own this plot.**

* * *

Too much. It was becoming too much.

This is the third time this week- or has it only been a few days?- that Stanley has tried to take off his blindfold. He has to protect his brother- he can't let anything happen to his brother- not the last thing- _person_ \- that matters to him. If Stanley were to see what he saw, he'd go insane and that can't happen, no matter what. Out of the two of them, Stanley has to make it out with his sanity. What kind of big brother would he be if he shirked his responsibilities again and saved himself?

Little does he know that Stanley is right beside him on his own descent into the madness that this place brings. He's been listening to the near constant whispers telling him not only that his brother will betray him, but reminding him of all his faults and the terrible things he's gone through the past ten years. It's left his shoulders in a permanent slump and his fingers constantly working the stray strings to occupy them.

Neither's going to walk out of these caves without losing something valuable.

" _Bezumiye_ means madness in Russian," Stanford says suddenly, catching Stanley off guard.

"Yeah, I know," Stanley replies with a grunt.

It's Stanford's turn to be caught off guard. "Really?"

"Knew a couple of Russians- had to learn to speak it. I know it pretty well," Stanley replies with a grunt, but doesn't elaborate anymore than that- too many bad memories.

Luckily for him Stanford doesn't pry and leaves well enough alone. "Oh," was all he said in reply to his brother.

Stanley doesn't look at his time with the Russians and learning said language with any particular fondness in his heart. While he had plenty of good times- after learning the language- before that, it was terrible and he was lucky to be alive right now. How he managed to get himself out of even half of the situations he's been in, he still wonders about. It's not skill- he's sure of it- but pure dumb luck that's kept him alive for so long.

The silence stretches on until Stanley says, "You should put your earplugs back in."

Stanford frowns at his words- Stanley's so _insistent_ that he keeps the earplugs in when not in danger and he's getting tired of it. _Why_ would his brother want him to wear them when the only thing that can do any mental harm is what he can _see_ around him?

"No."

Stanley stops and grits his teeth. "Damn it, 'Ford, put in the earplugs."

"I'm not gonna do it," Stanford says. "I've tolerated this for who knows how long and I'm not gonna do it anymore- it's too much of a risk." Stanley blindly grabs for his brother's shirt and when he grabs it he hooks his foot around his brother's ankle so that he trips. Stanford lands with a loud _thud_ on his back with his brother on top of him with a snarl on his lips. He tries to get Stanley's hands off of his shirt, but he can't. " _What the hell, Stanley?!_ "

"You may be the older brother... but let's not forget who's really been the big brother all along," Stanley growls deeply with an animalistic sound to his voice. Stanford's hands begin to shake and he's _genuinely_ afraid of his brother in this moment. "Now put the damn earplugs in or I'm gonna stuff them in so deep that you can't get them out without surgery."

Stanford looks at his features- how his eyebrows are furrowed and his mouth is set in a determined snarl. It's easy to imagine the fire in his eyes behind the blindfold. Stanley's absolutely, positively serious and he has no idea why he's doing this.

He nods wordlessly- he can't bring himself to speak- and taps, " _O-k._ " It's all he can manage before he takes the earplugs out of his pocket and puts them in his ears.

The "deaf" twin winces when his "blind" twin's fingers roughly touch his ears and feels for both ear plugs. Only when satisfied does Stanley relax and his features soften. He gets off of his brother and sits beside Stanford.

Stanley can feel his brother staring at him, but he can only imagine the look on his face.

Stanford rubs his collar bone- when Stanley landed on top of him, his fists pounded on it- and stares at his brother with wide, fearful eyes. Even when blind and injured, his brother still has an impressive amount of strength (but then again, Stanford didn't put as much effort into staying strong as his brother so there was also that to consider). He's never been so... _afraid_ of his brother- the one who protected him since childhood.

 _What is this place doing to us?_ Stanford wonders while trying to get his breathing calm again. _What did this place to do_ him _?_

" _I'm sorry, I just had to make sure you put them on... it's very important to me that you do_ ," Stanley signs though he's not sure his brother's reading them anymore, he's just got to reassure _himself_ that he did this- threaten his brother- for _his_ safety and sanity.

 _Maybe I'm not right in the head anymore,_ Stanley thinks. _Maybe I'm not as strong as I thought?_

 _Why is it so important?_ Stanford doesn't bother asking. He probably won't get an answer.

" _We should get going,_ " Stanley signs after a long silence.

" _O-...k._ "

Stanford gets up and then helps his brother up before leading him down the river like they've been doing for who knows how long- days? weeks? months? _years?_ \- with the same steady pace they've been doing for the same amount of time with their footsteps echoing in the cave and the sound stopping right at the water's edge to never return to Stanley's ears again.

They have to keep going because they have no choice.

Because if they stay then there's no chance of escaping the madness...

* * *

HAT: So... that happened. Any comments? Questions?

Dipper: One... _why?_

HAT: Why not? Angst and hurt/comfort are my specialties!

Dipper: I don't see a lot of comfort in this story!

HAT: See, about that- _oh_ , look at the time, it's time to watch a movie with the family. Bye! *rushes out*

Dipper: *groans* Please review, everyone.


	8. Chapter 8

HAT: If you know about Blind Faith before me posting it, then you know what happens in this chapter. Enjoy the brutality!

(EDIT: I uploaded the wrong chapter so... here's the original chapter seven I had in mind.)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the show or it's characters or this AU. I merely own this plot.**

* * *

Days- or weeks, who even keeps track of time anymore?- go by with tension between the brothers after Stanley's outburst. Stanford's gotten to the point that he's wary of his brother, but he'll definitely make sure that his brother escapes this place with more sanity than he will.

 _He'll take off the blindfold_ , the eyeballs spell in front of him. _He'll see._

He licks his lips nervously while trying to keep his thumbs from rubbing against his forefingers in nervousness. He can't give away that this place is effecting him otherwise his brother will _surely_ take off the blindfold. He can't risk that- if there were a way to keep the blindfold on without taking drastic measures, he would because even when he sleeps, he's afraid that his brother will take off the cloth that separates him from the madness that's slowly taking Stanford's mind.

Meanwhile, Stanley's getting more and more concerned for his brother. He's definitely losing it faster than himself- he hears him muttering under his breath endless lists from the elements of the periodic table to the names of historical figures to the facts that he knows about each monster back in Gravity Falls to the facts that he knows of this place- excluding the eyes that watch him all the time and how terrifying the beasts in this realm look. He doesn't want to believe that his brother will hurt him, but the brand on his back and phantom pain in his wrist reminds him that he's been hurt by said brother before.

 _He won't do it again,_ Stanley assures himself. _So long as I don't let the voices talk any ideas into his head, he should be fine._

Or at least, that's what he hopes. He just prays that his trust won't be broken in his brother's hands.

"G-gremoblins make you see your worst nightmares if you look into their eyes," Stanford mutters.

 _This again,_ Stanley thinks with an unrestrained groan- it's not like his brother can hear him anyway.

He's tired of hearing the voices and hearing his brother rattle off nonsense that's of no use to them. He just wants to go back in time and undo everything that's led to them being here. The best place to go back to would be the night he broke that stupid science project. Maybe then, he'd be better off and his brother wouldn't have hated him and they wouldn't have fallen into the _stupid fucking portal in the first place!_

 _Calm down,_ Stanley thinks while pinching the bridge of his nose.

If he wants to make it out of this place- whatever this place may be- he'll have to keep his sanity. He can't do this just for himself, but he has to do it for his brother so that _he_ can have some stable support when they get out because there's no way Stanford's walking out of here with a decent amount of sanity unless it's within the next few days.

 _How long have we been in here?_ Stanford wonders, taking out his paper that he's been ticking on and it's got so many tick marks, the sheet's yellow and black. It could be years for all either Pines man knows. _Does anyone even miss us?_

He shakes these thoughts from his head and focuses on the task at hand.

 _He'll betray you._

 _He'll take it off._

Both of them clench their fists and grit their teeth and try to block out their tormentors, but it's impossible when they _never leave!_ They just want to be left alone- they just want to get out of theseseemingly endless caves to something better with their twin's sanity in tact. _Is that too much to ask?!_

 _You're losing it._

Each brother- without the other's knowledge- calm themselves down to an acceptable level and keep going.

Stanford feels his brother lagging when he feels a tug on his coat one right after the other. He's learned to read these signals as his brother getting exhausted. He always keeps going until he drops or until Stanford gets exhausted himself and says they should stop, but that's Stanley for you- stubborn as always.

" _W-e _s-h-o-u-l-d _t-a-k-e _a _b-r-e-a-k_."

" _Are you sure?_ " Stanley spells on his back.

" _Y-e-s. I-m _g-e-t-t-i-n-g _t-h-i-r-s-t-y._ " And he's hungry as well since their last meal was a while ago- they're running on shear will power.

Stanley drops down to sit and nods while signing, " _Alright. Could you get me some water, too?_ "

"Uh-huh," Stanford grunts and walks to the silent, clear water. "Maybe we should rest a bit? We've been walking for hours."

Stanley perks at his brother's voices and then contemplates this for a few moments before answering, " _Yeah. Maybe getting a little nap will help, too. I'll take first "watch" and listen out, alright?_ "

"Alright," Stanford mutters and lies on the cold, hard ground.

It takes him a while to slip off- he's too busy watching Stanley to make sure he doesn't take off the blindfold- but eventually he does slip off for his nap.

When Stanford drifts off, Stanley relaxes a bit and listens to their surroundings for something like half an hour- an hour? a full night?- before he slowly shuffles his way to the water to get himself another drink. He takes off the blindfold to give his skin underneath a breather, but keeps his eyes closed- he feels less guilty when he does this.

What he doesn't know is that his brother's awake behind him, staring at him in disbelief. _How often has be taking it off while I sleep? How much has he seen?_

Stanley ends up putting the blindfold back on when he feels he should take up his brother so that he can take his own nap and shuffles back. He can't hear the difference in breathing because his movements drown it out.

"'Ford, wake up," Stanley says as he shakes his brother- even though his brother can't hear him.

Stanford doesn't take long to wake up and sits up and taps slowly- sleepily- " _T-i-m-e _t-o _c-h-a-n-g-e _s-h-i-f-t-s?_ "

Stanley nods and signs, " _Wake me up in an hour or so._ "

" _O-k._ "

 _He'll betray you! He'll hurt you!_

 _Shut up! SHUT UP FOR ONCE!_

The voices quiet to a dull roar and he manages to keep them out to finally drift off.

 _How many times has he taken off the blindfold? How much has he seen? Is that why he attacked me over earplugs? How many more times will he do it before he goes completely mad? Can I even stop him from doing it again? I have to keep him sane- he has to make it!_

He rocks, muttering incoherent words under his breath while looking at the eyes that curve in mocking smiles and the crescent smiles form underneath then with their sharp, glittering white teeth. Suddenly he's struck with an _ingenious_ idea. Stanley won't be able to go crazy if he can't see anything when he takes the blindfold off.

He takes out the knife his brother gave him in the beginning and twiddles with it hesitantly. There's no going back if he does it- can he even stomach doing something like that to his own brother? If he does it he'll help his brother in the long run.

His eyes are so focused on his twin that he doesn't realize that the grins have widened in satisfaction that Stanford's sanity is wavering.

 _For Stanley,_ Stanford thinks, hands tightening on the handle as he moves forward. He moves slowly and quietly and gulps when he finally reaches his brother. He takes a deep, shaky breath and sits on his brother's stomach so that he can't get away when the inevitable happens. Stanford quickly removes the blindfold and jabs the knife into his brother's eye.

Right before this had happened, the voices in Stanley's head went completely silent, making him wary, but he still hadn't expected what had come next. He wakes to the pain of his eye being stabbed and lets out a long, pain filled scream. He automatically reaches out with his right arm and grabs the person by the first thing he can grab- in this instance, an ear and hair while digging his nails into the skin and drawing blood- and uses all of his strength to slam his attacker's head onto the ground despite the searing pain that it brings on his shoulder.

He scrambles away from Stanford who groans and tries to get back up, but his vision's swimming.

The pain's unbearable and he takes out the object stabbed into- or rather, underneath- his eye and presses his hand to the wound despite the pain and cries in pain- tears mingling with the blood on the ground and on his shirt.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Stanford mutters as he clutches the side of his head, crying like a child. "I'm so sorry..."

* * *

HAT: I sat there for something like ten minutes staring at the screen in shock that my fingers _wrote_ this.

Gompers: BAAAA.

HAT: I know and I feel so guilty!

Gompers: Baaaaa.

HAT: You're right- you always are.

Gompers: Baa.

HAT: Yeah, what he said. Go review, please!


	9. Chapter 9

HAT: If you know about Blind Faith before me posting it, then you know what happens in this chapter. Enjoy the brutality!

(EDIT: I uploaded the wrong chapter so... here's the original chapter seven I had in mind.)

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the show or it's characters or this AU. I merely own this plot.**

* * *

"I-it's gonna be alright," Stanford mutters, reaching out for his brother only to get his hand slapped away with an unnecessary amount of force.

" _Get the fuck away from me_ ," Stanley snarls, backing away from his brother with a vicious glare.

If looks could kill, his brother would be dead ten times over by now- hands down.

"It's for the best," Stanford tries to reason, but Stanley's not hearing it.

" _Nothing_ about this is ' _for the best,'_ Stanford! You fucking _stabbed_ me in the _goddamn eye_!" Stanley snarls- he doesn't even care if his brother hears the voices anymore, he's that pissed off and _hurt_ \- how can Stanford do that to him? "You can't _justify_ this!"

Stanford- despite his right ear not picking up any noise- can hear his brother perfectly and guilt stabs at his chest repeatedly while he sobs and tries to reason with his brother. "It was the only way I could save you- i-if you let me take them out, you can-"

The bulkier twin shoves the other man off of him so that he lands with a loud _thump_ on the ground. " _I said to get away you piece of shit!_ "

"Stanley," he whimpers brokenly. "Y-you've gotta trust me."

"Why should I trust you ever again after what you did?! _I never peaked when I took off the blindfold because I promised you I wouldn't,_ " Stanley says with his chest tightening. "I didn't because I didn't want to break your trust..."

"Stan-"

"No! I don't wanna hear excuses," Stanley snarls. "You fucked up... you broke my trust and now you'll _never_ get it back. That's a _promise._ "

Stanford can't stop sobbing. " _I'm so sorry._ "

After cleaning his eye, Stanley wraps it up and holds his bloodied swiss army knife and points it at the pathetic man in front of him with a hard glare. "Empty your pockets." Thankfully the sobbing man cooperates and Stanley takes all the objects that can be used as weapons and even pats him down for anymore weapons- he's not taking anymore chances. "Put the rest of the stuff back in your pockets."

The older of the two picks up the papers that he'd had stuffed in his trench coat back into their place and reaches out to his brother, begging for forgiveness that he won't be given- not any time soon at least.

 _I should have listened to the voices,_ Stanley thinks with gritted teeth.

Once he's a bit calmer- not that he can get to the type of calm he had been able to get to before- he grabs the collar of Stanford's shirt and hauls him up.

"What're you doing?" Stanford asks wearily.

"We're walking, dumb ass. Now move," Stanley snarls, pushing his brother in front of him so that he can keep an eye on his brother.

The entire walk, Stanford mutters apologies and explanations for why he did it, but Stanley tunes him out easily- compared to the voices he's been hearing, blocking him is easy.

" _L-i-g-h-t._ "

Apparently he automatically tunes into this method of communication, but he does notice light in the distance. _Is this a way out of this godforsaken cave?_

"Let's go," Stanley says, dragging his brother with his left hand as he runs towards the light and- thankfully- it gets bigger.

After what feels like forever of running they exit the cave and are hit by blinding sunlight- a relief after being in the dimness of the cave for only God knows how long.

Stanley rubs his face as if he can rub the sunshine on his face and laughs hysterically as his eyes- _eye_ \- adjusts to the light. Stanford on the other hand stands there with shaking hands and moves closer to his brother for a sense of security, but gets pushed away- the eye stabbing is still too fresh.

Stanford whimpers and then looks down the mountain that they're apparently on and sees desert around them, but what catches both Pines' attention is the large city made of clay.

 _Civilization._

* * *

Wendy: I thought this was gonna be longer.

HAT: No, but that's because I have big plans for- get this- _a sequel!_ It may take a while to come out, but I promise that I'll try to get it out. I feel guilty already for what I'm gonna put one, specific twin through before things get better.

Wendy: *groans* Greeeeat.

HAT: So, Wendy, mind doing the thing for me?

Wendy: Alright, you weirdo.

HAT: He-

Wendy: Review, everyone.


End file.
